Tomato coring machine



Dec. 4, 1934.

c. H. AYARS 1,982,779

TOMATO CORING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORCharles H- Ayar 5 I HIS ATTOIEEY C. H. AYARS' TOMATO CORING MACHINE Dec.4, 1934.

' Filed March 29, 1952 WITNESS.-

5 sheets-shew; 2

INVENTOR I Charles HAyara H15 ATTORfVEY Dec. 4, 1934.

H. AYARS TOMATO CORING MACHINE Filed March 29, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 E 59?- 1 J6 1; x

. 60 1 l 92MB I 54 v 9 t J; 59 z 6 -6/ I O Q 0 H v V U V 60 z v 306, 6/95 Z"! i 64 7'1 0 O 7 5 "/2 v 55 7g 6 y i 8 55 X 66 ML r L 28' 55 m v A55 Y Y WITNESS: 28 J INVENTOR W Charles l-LAyars (y u Dec. 4, 1934. c.H. AYARS 1,932,779

' I TOMATO CORING MACHINE Filed-March 29, 1952 5 sheets-sleet 4 WITNESS:V R

- Eharlesl-LAyara Q MJ BY I Patented Dec. 4, 1934 TOMATO CORING MACHINECharles H. Ayars, Salem, N. J., assignor =to Ayars v Machine Company,Salem, N.

of New Jersey J atcorporation 7 Application March 29, 1932, Serial No.601,808

7 Claims. (01. 146-52) This invention relates to acQr-ing machine, andparticularly to a machine for removin vthe stem and core from tomatoesand .the like.

The mechanisms which go to make up the machine hereinafterdescribed andclaimed, provide improvements over the tomato coring machine shown anddescribed in my ,Patent No. 1,717,827, datedJune 18,1929.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a tomatocoring machine for coring tomatoes in an improved and more.facilemanner.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improved meansfor carrying thetomatoes into position :to he cored.

A further object is to provide newand facile means whereby after coringthe tomatoes are carried toa desiredposition and discharged.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide means whereby -the-coretaken from the tomato is'successfully disposed of.

A still further object of the invention -is the presentation of thetomatoes -to be cored to the operatives charged withplacing the tomatoesin position for coring.

A stillfurther object of the invention is to provide improved tomatoholding means.

According to the invention the machine comprises a rotating turret,coring units carried by said turret and adapted to be rotated, aconveyor for presentingtomatoes beneath a portion of said turret andeach-tomatocentered beneath one of said coring units, means for movingsaid tomatoes in ,unison with said coring .units, a pair of cam the endof eachshaft, means cooperating with the shaft and one of said camtrackstfor lowering the cutters to the top of a tomato to be cored, astop member for resting on the top of the tomato,

:40 said stop member adapted to cooperate with toggle means to closesaid cutters and core said tomato upon the continued downward movementof said shaft, means cooperating with saidxlast named cam track to raisesaid shaft, and meansco- {45 operating with said other cam trackto opensaid inventioni-andihavi w therei n e i ow tracks, a shaft for eachcoring unit, cutters on Figure ;1 ;is a perspective view of the machineviewed from left front,

-Eig ure 2is aperspective view of the machine viewed from right front,

Figure 3 isa, rearview of theturret, parts of the carrier beingbroken-away,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the machine, Figure 5 is an enlargeddetail View of one of the cutter units,

Figured is a top plan view of one of rings,

Figure Tis a top plan view ofone of the ring u p t Figure 8 is a topplan View of the tomato disha e em m 1 Figure 9 is a top plan of one ofthe yokes, and a Figure 10 is a detail iew, partly in section of theconnection of ayokewith one ofthe planetary shafts.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views. jIhe improved tomato coring machine, which forms thesubject-matter of this application, comprises an arched frame 20,supported in any approved manner, as by the legs 21. Theframe isprovidedwith a cross bar 22 in which and in the top section of theframe, a shaft 23 is journaled, and said shaft is rotated by meansiof agear 24 meshing-with a pinion 25 with a shaft 26, which receives powerfrom anyconvenient source and applied in any approved manner as by-thepulley 27. e

Extendingalso from the frame 20 is ahorizontal frame 28 formingasubstantially horizontal runway at;the rear of the machine. \Mounted atthe rear end of thisframe 28 is a vertical shaft 29 carrying a sprocket30. (See Figure 4.)' A sproclgetiil is also mounted upon the shaft 23(see 'Figures l and 2), and asprocket chain 32 the cam OFFICEpasses'about said sprocketsBOand 31 and extends substantiallyparallelwithand abovethe sides 28.

The sprocket chains 32 are provided with a plurality of oups 33irigidlysecuredto spaced links in said chain, and having .extensions34i ridingupon the guideways 35.

Rigidly mounted on the vertical shaft 23 is a turretB comprisinga disk36to which are secured a plurality of arched frames 37. The archedframes 37 have at their upper and lower limits alined bearings ;38 and39 respectively, in which are journaledshafts 40. These shafts 40areprovided with elongated pinions 4 1 rigidly secured t e q wh h d r non en -a ar 42, m untediun lihesha :2 bu hel a a itation by means of abrace 43 extending downwardly from the arched frame 20 and secured bybolts 44 and 45 as shown, or otherwise.

These several shafts 40 are, by reason of the engagement of the pinion41 with the stationary gear 42, given a planetary movement about andwith the shaft 23. Upon the shaft 23 a disk 46 is rigidly secured, asindicated by the set screw 4'7 in Figure 5, and provided with aplurality of upstanding cars 48. Each pair of the ears 48 is providedwith a loop-shaped lever 49, each of which embraces one of the shafts40and. extends to form a bearing for a cam roller '50. The lever 49 isprovided with rollers 51 diametrically disposed upon opposite sides ofthe shaft 40, and positioned to engage under a collar 52 rigidly securedto the shaft so that as the cam roller is raised or lowered to asufiicient extent by the cam track 53, the shaft 40 is also raised andlowered.

At times, the lever 49 does not act upon the collar 52, one of suchinactive positions being shown at Figure 5. 9

Each of the shafts 40 is provided with aslot 54 and slidably mountedupon the shaft is a sleeve 55. The sleeve 55 is provided with spacedflanges 56 (see Figures 9 and 10), and has a pin through the slot 54.

Mounted also upon the shaft 23 is a disk 5'7, having upstandingtherefrom, a plurality of cars 58 between pairs of which are pivotedloop-shaped levers 59, embracing the shafts 40 and provided at theirouter extremities with rollers 60 travelling upon the cam track 61. Eachof these 1oopshaped levers 59 is provided with threaded pintles 62 whichcarry blocks 63 fitting between the flanges 56 of the collar 55, andslidable relative to the axis of the shaft 40 to compensate for theangular movement of such loop-shaped levers.

These loop-shaped levers 59 also have connected therewith, at the pintle62, a member 64 by means of spaced arms 65 (see Figure 7).

Mounted upon the sprocket 31 are a plurality of uprights 66 which areslidably engaged by the slot in the member 64 formed by the fingers 6'7.The member 64 also carries a screw 68 (see Figure 5) and attachedthereto, is an arm 69. The arm 69.is provided with a perforation 70which slides upon the upright 66 and the interval between the member 64,and the arm 65 is adjusted by means of nuts 71. The arm 69 carries aring or stop member 72 which is concentric with each of the shafts 40.

Each of these shafts 40 carries a head '73 rigidly secured thereto,providing a fulcrum '74 for the cutters '75. Each of the cutters '75 hasa lever '76, the extremities ofwhich are connected by means of links '77with the sleeve 55.

Each of the cups 33 is provided with a slot '78,

- such slots being so arranged that as the cups travel parallel with thetracks 35, the slots 78 are in alinement as shown more particularly atFigure 4. Cooperating with the slot in the cups is an ejector '79rigidly secured to the track, or some other part of the structure, asindicated at 80. This ejector is provided with a finger 81 which extendsdownwardly into the slots '78, and with a deflector 82 which lifts anddeflects the tomatoes from the cups 33 and deposits them in the chute83. 1

Beneath the track members 35, a table 84 is mounted upon a verticalshaft 86. Beneath this table 84 a gear 8'7 isprovided,interengaging withan idler gear 88 which in turn engages a gear 89, upon the shaft 29. Theshaft 29 is driven by the sprocket chain 32 from the sprocket 31, sothat as the sprocket 31 and turret carried thereby rotates, the sprocket31 is rotated and through the medium of the idler 88 and the gear 8'7,the table 84 is rotated. A stationary limiting abutment 90 is erectedabout this table 84. A chute 91 is positioned to discharge upon thetable 84 so that tomatoes may be delivered to the chute 91 and therebyconveyed to and discharged upon the table 84. The table 84 rotating,serves to bring the tomatoes thereon constantly into position to betaken by operators standing about, the stationary abutment 90, and bythe operators, lifted and placed into'the cups 3 3.

- The cam tracks53 and 61 are made adjustable by means of being attachedto slotted extensions 92 carried upon the inner sides of the archedframe 20 to which extensions the cam tracks are bolted as by the bolts93.

In operation, the device is driven by power applied to the shaft 26 asby use of the pulley 2'7. The rotation of the shaft 26 rotates the shaft23, and the sprocket 31 carries the sprocket chain 32, which passesabout the sprocket 30 and carries the cups 33. This rotation moves thetrain of cups in the direction indicated by the arrows, andsimultaneously rotates'the table 84.

The turret, carried by the shafts23, actuating the shafts 40 with theplanetary movement imparted thereto by the engagement of the pinions 41with the stationary gear 42, serves to rotate such shafts 40 and thecutters '75 carried thereby.

As the tomatoes carried by the cups come under the rotating turret, thecutter heads are lifted to their extreme limits by the upward curve 53of the camtrack 53. From this maximum elevation, the cam track 53descends as shown more particularly at Figure 2. The descent of the camtrack 53 through the medium of the rollers 50 and the levers 49, dropthe shafts 40 gradually downward, carrying therewith the heads '73 andcutters '75. As this structure drops, the cam stop '72 engages upon thetop of the tomato, located in the cup 33, directly therebeneath.

This limits the downward movement of the ring and the sleeve 55, but theweight of the shaft 40, acting upon the head '73, forces the cuttersdownwardly into the cam ring '72 to the position shown in Figure 5.Assuming that this cam ring is bearing upon the top of the tomato, therotating cutters '75will cut out a core including the stem. By referenceto Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that this lowering of the parts isgradual and controlled by the cam 53, and that the lowest limits ofthese parts are determined by the height of the tomato thereunder. Therotation of the cutters cuts this core, and as the rollers 60successively strike the upward curve 61' of the cam track 61, thecutters, still with their points in engagement as shown at Figure 5, arelifted free from the tomato, and by sliding up-- wardly in the slot 54,lifting therewith the stop ring by which the cutters are still held inthe position shown at Figure 5. i v

When the rollers 50 travel upwardly along the cam track 53 as shown atFigure 3, the shafts 40 are lifted, lifting therewith the head '73,permitting the sleeves 55 to slide downwardly along the slots 54,thereby raisingthe cutters from the ring '72 and opening them so thatthey will drop the severed core as indicated at Xin Figure 3;

It will thus be apparent that as eachftornato comes under'one of thecutters, the cutter is by coaction ofthe cams 53 and 61,loweredandconstantly rotated, so that it properly cuts from the tomato a conicalcore, then lifts the core from the tomato and at the proper position atthe rear of the machine, as indicated at Figure 3, drops the severedcore.

The tomato, freed from the core and the knives thus lifted, passes aboutuntil the cup, carrying the particular tomato, comes in engagement withthe ejector, whereupon, the finger 81 passing under the tomato in thecup, lifts the tomato, and the deflector 82 deflects the tomato into thechute 83.

Each of the shafts 40 and their associated parts, including the cutters,therefore, provides a complete cycle of operation, and when assembled inthe exact manner shown in the drawings, nine cycles of operation areperformed at each revolution of the shaft 23. It is to be understoodthat while nine of the cutter units have been shown, the same may beincreased or decreased as circumstances may make necessary or desirable.The only requirement is that the cups in their orbital movement out andback across the charging table shall, when passing under the turret,present a cup properly centered beneath each one of the coring units.

Of course, the tomato coring machine, herein illustrated, may bemodified and changed in various ways without departing from theinvention herein set forth and hereinafter claimed.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a tomato coring machine, a rotating unit, hinged cutters unitedlyforming substantially a cone carried by the unit, means to impartcontinuous planetary motion to the cutters, 'a cam adapted to raise andlower the cutters, means to close the cutters while being lowered, a camadapted to raise the cutters while closed, means i to open the cuttersas a step subsequent to the raising, and means to move tomatoesprocessionally into the orbit of movement of the cutters while beinglowered and raised, said opening of the cutters transpiring after thetomatoes have left the orbit of the cutters.

2. A tomato coring 7 machine comprising a frame, a rotating centralshaft, a turret carried by the shaft, a gear concentric with the shaft,a plurality of spindles journaled in the turret, a pinion carriedrigidly by each spindle so proportioned as to receive continuousplanetary -motion from and slide vertically relative to the gear,cutters carried by and rotating continuously with the spindles, a camconcentric with the shaft, means riding the cam adapted to raise andlower the spindles, pinions and cutters, a second cam concentric withthe shaft, means riding said second cam adapted to close said cutterswhile being lowered, means to propel tomatoes along and coinciding withthe path of travel of the cutters during the lowering and raising of thecutters, said second cam operating to open the cutters only subsequentto a complete raising.

3. In a tomato coring machine, a rotating unit, a gear within the unit,hinged cutters unitedly forming substantially a cone journaled upon theunit, means engaging the gear to impart continuous planetary motion tothe cutters, a cam adapted to raise and lower the cutters, a gaugeadapted to engage the top of a tomato when lowered and coacting to closethe cutters while being lowered, and a cam adapted to raise the cutterswhile closed, said first cam embodying means to open the cutters as astep subsequent to the raismg.

4. In a tomato coring machine, a rotating unit, a gear within the unit,hinged cutters unitedly forming substantially a cone journaled upon theunit, means engaging the gear to impart continuous planetary motion tothe cutters, a cam adapted to raise and lower the cutters, a gaugeadapted to engage the tops of tomatoes and embodying a conically taperedinterior cooperating to close the cutters while being lowered, a camadapted to raise the cutters while closed, said first cam embodyingmeans to open the cutters as a step subsequent to the raising, and meansto move tomatoes orbitally, a part of the orbit coinciding with the pathof the cutters provided by the rotating motion. a

5. In a tomato coring machine, a rotating unit, a gear within the unit,hinged cutters unitedly forming substantially a cone journaled upon theunit, means engaging the gear to impart continuous planetary motion tothe cutters, a cam adapted to raise and lower the cutters, meansvariable to the height of the tomatoes to close the cutters while beinglowered, a cam adapted to raise the cutters while closed, said first camembodying means to open the cutters as a step subsequent to the raising,and means to move tomatoes-an orbit in part different from and in partcoinciding with the path of the cutters provided by the rotating motion,said coincidence being during the raising and lowering of the cuttersand diverging thereafter.

6. In a tomato coring machine, a rotating unit, a gear within the unit,hinged cutters unitedly forming substantially a cone journaled upon theshaft, means engaging the gear to impart continuous planetary motion tothe cutters, a cam adapted to raise and lower the cutters, means toclose the cutters while being lowered, a cam adapted to raise thecutters while'closed, said,

first cam providing means to open the cutters as a step subsequent tothe raising, and means to move tomatoes in an orbit in part differentfrom and in part coinciding with the path of the cutters provided by therotating motion, said coincidence being during the raising and loweringof the cutters, said subsequent opening being also subsequent to thecoincidence.

7. In a tomato coring machine, a hinged cutter, means to impartcontinuous rotary motion to the cutter, means to raise and lower thecutter, means variable as the height of the tomato to close the cutterwhile being lowered, means to maintain the cutter in closed relationwhile being raised, means to relatively move the tomatoes and and cutterout of vertical association, and means to open the cutter after being sorelatively moved.

CHARLES H. Ara-Rs.

